Welcome to Central City
by oOPersephoneJonesOo
Summary: Kara Danvers hung up her cape and walked away from National City after a heartbreaking tragedy made her feel like she was no longer fit to be Supergirl. Do heroes ever really get to retire, though? When she finds a new job in Central City she bumps into none other than Barry Allen. Watch them form a bond of understanding, friendship, and maybe even something more? Kara/Barry
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Kara walked off the train that had brought her to Central City, suitcase in tow. Stepping off and into the big new city that was now her home, the kryptonian girl couldn't help but let a sigh escape her lips. Central City was beautiful, and not too different in appearance to National City, but it just didn't feel the same. Maybe that was a good thing though, maybe then Kara could begin to forget... begin to heal. It had been months, and Winn's scream still plagued her nightmares.

" _KARA!"_

She winced as she made her way to her new apartment, remembering that day was still far too painful. Her heart broke every night as she dreamed of Winn's final, desperate cry for help. She had been so focused on stopping the toy bombs that she hadn't noticed her best friend's father sneak up behind him and hold a gun to his head. Toyman hadn't meant to kill his son, he had only hoped to distract Supergirl long enough to stop her, as he had observed that the caped superhero obviously had some kind of connection with Winn.

Maybe she moved a little too quickly and startled him, maybe it was one of his fits of blinding rage, or maybe it was a combination of the two that made him pull the trigger. With a loud "BANG," Winn was gone. The Toyman immediately crumpled, holding the form of his son. Kara took this opportunity to apprehend Winslow Schott and leave him in the hands of the FBI; they could deal with this monster themselves. After making sure all the other people at the toy convention were unharmed, Kara finally turned her attention to her fallen friend.

She walked up to the stage slowly, as most of the other people trickled out of the building. Some lingered to answer police questions, but Kara wasn't focusing on them now. She was looking at Winn. No, not Winn, his body. It lay before her. As if her brain couldn't accept what had happened, Kara thought she saw his chest rise. As a flicker of hope burned within her she looked, nothing moved. He was gone. She began to cry silently, standing perfectly still until someone tapped her on the shoulder. It was a man in some kind of uniform, Kara didn't really care who he was or that he was witnessing her lowest moment.

"Miss- uh- Supergirl?" The man struggled with his words for a moment, obviously caught off guard by meeting the hero of National City, and meeting her with tears in her eyes. He composed himself before continuing, "Miss, I'm very sorry but we need to take the body away." Kara nodded solemnly, and saw Winn off to the vehicle that took him away.

Once she reached the sidewalk she was bombarded by journalists and news anchors. All of them yelled questions that Kara couldn't begin to answer. So she didn't, she simply took off, leaving them all behind her. Once she started flying however, she couldn't find any reason to stop. She flew above her city for hours, not quite knowing what to do with herself. It was as if someone had hollowed out her insides, leaving her with an aching feeling she couldn't quite pinpoint.

The funeral was small, but full of kind faces. James and Alex attended, both having known Winn and both knowing that Kara needed them with her. Cat did not attend, but even she shut down CatCo. for a few hours that day. Kara sobbed without shame; Winn was her best friend, he had loved her... She touched her lips as she thought of the kiss they had shared. If only she had embraced him instead of running from the unknown. If only she could do this whole week over...

Snapping out of her depressing train of thought, Kara found her apartment building and made her way up. When she finally reached her door, she cursed as she had trouble finding her keys. Finally pulling them out and letting her self in, Kara left her suitcase by the door and kicked off her shoes. She looked over her decorated apartment. She had been back and forth for a few weeks now so that everything would be unpacked when she moved in. It was relatively identical to her apartment in National City, but with a different view.

Kara began to hunt for apartments in Central City right after the funeral. Within a few days she had found a new place to live and had let her current landlord know she was leaving. Alex barely put up a fight, James simply nodded in understanding and offered to help her pack, and Cat merely pursed her lips with a nod. She had, however, given Kara a glowing recommendation to the CCPD. Kara was grateful for that, and tried to show her appreciation through her final two weeks of work. Now, starting on Monday, Kara was going to be the official press liaison for the Central City Police Department. She would basically be the buffer between the police and the press. Most times her job would be to organize the appearance of the press, but she would also be coaching the police on what to say and what not to say to the reporters, among other things.

The kryptonian girl was glad for the new job because it made her feel like she was still helping out in some way to keep people safe. Even if it was just a very small role that she played. That's all she could stomach now anyway, she couldn't bare to don her cape anymore. Her family's crest burned into her chest, reminding her of all the house of El once stood for. Reminding her of how she had failed. Reminding her... of Winn.

Maybe that was part of the reason Kara had chosen Central City. It already had its own protector. The Flash. Even Kara had to admit he was quite impressive. She could fly pretty fast herself, but her top speed didn't even come close to him. She wasn't sure though, maybe she would see him race by one day.

Not even bothering to change into her pajamas, Kara fell onto her bed. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was asleep. Visions of lightning danced behind her eyelids. It made Kara smile to know that if she couldn't be Supergirl any more, there were still people like the Flash out there...


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kara woke up with a start, like she always seemed to do now. Slowly, she raised her hand to her chest and felt her heart. It was racing. She took a few calming breaths before swinging her legs over the side of her bed. She never allowed herself to think too much about her nightmares anymore, they were just a part of her routine. Wake up, breathe, get ready. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry... Crying just made her morning exponentially longer. It was a cold and calculating way to view her tormenting dreams, but it's what kept her on the right track each day.

The blonde girl stumbled to the bathroom while rubbing her blue eyes. She yawned as she reached for her toothbrush. Today was the day she started her new job at the police department. She was somewhat excited but mostly nervous. Even though Cat Grant was a terrifying person to work for at times, she had really been just an assistant at CatCo. Now she was a press-liaison for a police department. What she told these cops to say and what not to would have an immediate impact. Not only that, but she was the liaison for the Meta-Human Task Force! There was a kind of added pressure in that the eyes of the whole city seemed to be focused on the meta-humans.

Kara mulled over her suddenly-elevated position for a while; maybe it was the fact that she had worked for the woman who had literally coined the name, 'Supergirl." She figured they thought she had experience with the press in relation to people with powers. They weren't wrong, but it was still a big leap from getting Ms. Grant's coffee in the morning. She mused over this as she finished up with her morning routine. She usually didn't have to wear any makeup, thank Rao for kryptonian skin, but she did put on a touch of mascara and a dab of pink lip gloss. Then, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and pushing her fake glasses onto her nose, Kara exited her bathroom. No matter how often her mornings started off in nightmares, she always felt refreshed after getting ready.

Looking at the clock, Kara sighed. A glowing, red 5:55 glared back at her. Her alarm wasn't set to go off for another hour; she wasn't meant to be at work until 8:15! This was the problem with not knowing anyone in a new city. Her nights always ended early, so naturally, after getting its fill of sleep and bad dreams, her body woke up with no hope of letting her back to sleep. The kryptonian was determined though, this was it. This was her new life.

So, with somewhat forced determination, Kara set out. Even though she had been back and forth quite a few times, she was still woefully unfamiliar with the city. Now was as good a time as any to go sightseeing, she could even end her little tour off by grabbing a coffee from the one place she did know. Jitters, was it? Yeah. A nice hot tea would be a nice way to start off her morning, maybe she could get one of those chocolate filled pastries...

After about an hour of walking around Central City the streets were slowly but surely starting to fill up with people and it wasn't too long until Kara found herself in the coffee shop. She ordered a peppermint tea and one of their decorative iced cookies. She still had some time to kill, maybe she could take a seat. Oh! Maybe she could get Joe a coffee on her way in! Was that weird? She wasn't his assistant. Would he take it as she was trying too hard? Would he-

Her train of thought was interrupted as she walked straight into somebody, dropping her coffee at their feet. "I am so sorry! I-" Kara looked up to face the person whose sneakers she just ruined but stop short. The brown hair, the collared shirt, the sweater... It couldn't be. "Winn?" Kara's voice broke on the name.

Winn looked confused, "Um... no?" His voice was different, and suddenly it wasn't Winn anymore. The image before Kara's eye snapped into place until before her stood a man she didn't know. He looked like Winn, but he was taller, leaner. The man must have picked up on Kara's distress as he suddenly looked concerned, "Hey, don't worry about the shoes. I can just run home and get another pair." He smiled kindly, but that just made it worse.

Kara blinked a few times before she could even move, "I- I have to go." She skirted around the unknown man before he could stop her, "I'm really sorry," she called over her shoulder as she exited the building. She walked as fast as she thought she could without anyone becoming concerned. How had that man looked so much like Winn? Their clothes- the hair. It was too much. Her thoughts swirled and churned and before she knew it she was on the steps of the police department. With a deep breath, pushing thoughts of doppelgangers out of her mind, Kara walked in.

The department was chaotic, in a familiar way. People going to and from, coming in and out, but everyone had a task. Everyone was here to do a job. The hum of the office was a welcome noise, a nice break from the normal silence of her apartment. It reminded her of CatCo and she almost felt herself melt into the familiarity of it all. Her eyes fell on the reception desk and she spent the next few minutes sorting out her ID badges and a little last-minute paperwork.

A warm voice made her look up from the documents she was signing, "You must be Kara." A welcoming smile on his face. "I'm Joe West, but you can just call me Joe."

The older man before Kara made her relax just a touch more. His smile was genuine and it made Kara feel like it could all be alright. She could make new friends, start a new job, and it would all be alright. "Hi," she reached her hand out, "I'm Kara. Oh, well, you already knew that I guess." She pushed on her glasses, as she tended to do when she was nervous.

Joe chuckled, "First-day nerves? Don't worry about it, you'll do great. At the very least, you're punctual." The man glanced down at his watch, "You don't even start for another 25 minutes."

Kara chuckled nervously, "Yeah, well, I guess I just got an early start to the day."

Joe smiled again but glanced over her shoulder, "At least your more punctual than my son, I don't think he's been on time a day in his life." He gestured to someone behind Kara, "Barry, let me introduce you to someone."

Kara turned around with a smile prepared for whoever she faced, but it dropped when she saw who it was. It was Winn. No! Not Winn! The not Winn guy? She startled as Joe put a hand on her shoulder.

"Barry Allen meet Kara Danvers, Kara Danvers meet my son, Barry Allen."

 **AN: Sooooooo it's been almost two years? Here's the thing, I really suck at writing extended plot. I kind of just put that first chapter out into the world and toyed with the idea of continuing but I didn't think I would. I also didn't think anyone would really read it, but still, two years later, people want more (which is insane). So, I'm not exactly saying I'll continue, but I'll try to play with the story a little more. Christmas break is coming up and I would need to rewatch some of the Flash to do it (that's why this chapter has no plot points, I literally don't remember what they are). If you want to adopt this story feel free! If not, I'll tryyyyy to actually update it but no promises. For now, I hope everyone has a Happy Holidays!**


	3. Chapter 3

Kara stared, dumbfounded by the sheer absurdity of it all. How was it possible? Within the span of an hour not only had she bumped into this stranger but he had turned out to be the son of her new boss? Why, in the name of Rao, did he have to work in the same police department in the same city as her? Regardless, she tried returning to some semblance of normalcy, "H-hi, um, I'm-I'm Kara." Well, she tried.

A look of recognition passed over the face of the person Kara now knew to be Barry, "Hey, you were just at the coffee shop. I-"

Before he could finish Kara turned to Joe, pushing up her glasses once more. "Um, I'm going to hit the ladies room really quickly and then maybe you could uh- show me where to put my things?"

Joe nodded silently with a look of utter confusion. He spoke as Kara walked into the washroom, "Well that was something, do you know her?"

Barry's low voice came next, "Not really, I bumped into her at the Jitters—literally—and she dropped her coffee."

"That's it? With the way she clammed up Bar, I would think you had scared her."

"I don't see how." He paused, "Well, she did seem a little off earlier. Maybe she's just nervous about starting a new job."

Joe hummed, "Maybe…"

At that point, Kara stopped listening through the walls. What was she going to do? How was she supposed to move on when she kept running into that same guy? Looking at herself straight on in the mirror, she steeled herself.

"C'mon Kara," she whispered, "You've faced so much worse than this. You probably won't have to see the guy ever again. It's not like he looks that much like… like Winn." She nodded firmly at her reflection. Briefly using her X-Ray vision to confirm that Barry was gone, Kara exited the bathroom.

Joe stood, patiently waiting for Kara, the epitome of understanding. She was relieved to see that he didn't look put off by her mini freak-out. "Sorry about that, I-"

Joe waved her concerns away, "Don't worry about it kid, everyone get's nervous on their first day. Let's get you set up here and maybe it can start to feel like home."

Home. Kara mulled over that word for a moment, she hoped this could be home. She smiled, "Well then, lead the way detective."

The man laughed as he began to walk into the bullpen, "No no no, none of that. We've talked about this, it's Joe."

OOOOO

Her first day wasn't too bad, Joe had spent the rest of the morning catching her up on what he really expected of her. It was pretty straight forward: the news outlets had been given the number to her desk if they wanted information related to a new meta human or some related incident. She could answer simple questions with answers approved by Joe. If a press conference was in order, she organized it. She would also work with Joe to help him choose his words carefully, in order to avoid tabloids manipulating information or to avoid his words doing more harm than good. Other than that, she could monitor news related to metahumans if she had time.

It all left her a little overwhelmed, the complete weight of it all. This was incredibly important work; at least, it felt like it to the kryptonian. It really seemed to be hitting her know that this was life, she had a real job! Not that being an assistant wasn't a real job, but this job had real stakes. Well, the stakes were higher than screwing up a coffee order or forgetting to schedule a dinner.

Sensing that Kara was reaching the end of her rope, Joe lightened it up and moved on to small talk. "So, Kara, tell me little about yourself. Where are you from?"

Kara appreciated the change of pace, "Well, I grew up in Midvale but more recently I was living in National City. I've lived there pretty much since I got out of university."

Joe smiled at the ease with which she spoke, obviously she was more comfortable. The pair chatted amicably about a variety of subjects including where Joe had lived and how he had gotten into police work. Kara also found out he had a daughter named Iris who he adored. It was all casual and cool until the older man asked, "And you worked at CatCo? Pretty big news company."

The blonde chuckled, "Well, I was basically an espresso maker with legs but it was a good job. My boss was… complicated, but an incredible woman. She inspired me everyday. Cat was a big part of the reason I wanted to be a writer."

"So you wanted to be a journalist too?"

Kara nodded while sipping at a tea she had gotten herself when Joe was showing her around the office.

"So why the sudden change? Quarter-life crisis?" He joked.

Kara stopped, mid-sip. She swallowed carefully before looking towards the floor, "Actually, a good friend of mine recently passed away. A lot of things… a lot of things just didn't seem as important anymore. Even more things just seemed unbearable without him." She met Joe's eyes, "But I couldn't wallow anymore, so I packed my bags and got a fresh start here."

Joe looked like he regretted asking the question, "I'm sorry to hear that, and I'm even more sorry for your loss." There was a pause, "I take the sudden move means that you don't know anyone in the city?"

Kara shook her head, "No, I haven't really explored too much yet."

"Well," Joe said as he placed his own drink on the desk beside him, "you know me and I'd like it if you came to dinner at our house tonight."

"What?"

"Yeah, it'll be great. Iris is about your age and I think you would really like her. Also, I make the best pasta in the world, if I do say so myself, so you really can't say no."

"Well-I-"

"I'm not going to take no for an answer." Joe said firmly with a smirk on his face.

Kara sighed but let the corners of her mouth turn up into a small, sheepish smile, "I'll bring dessert?"

Joe touched her shoulder lightly, "Sounds great." He picked up his cup and began to walk towards the stairs that lead to the upstairs labs while calling over his shoulder, "Pie is always a big hit with my kids."

Kara alternated between excitement and nervousness for the rest of the day. The way Joe had spoken of Iris had made the blonde sure that they could be great friends; they had tons in common. But she was also nervous about sitting down to dinner with her boss, even though he seemed like the nicest man in this universe, and his family. His family including none other than Barry Allen, the younger man whom she had embarrassed herself in front of not once, but twice today. She wanted to facepalm just thinking of it.

Deciding to pour her anxious energy into something productive, Kara settled on whipping up one apple and one blueberry pie before heading over to the West's. You couldn't go wrong with the classics. One the pies were finished and wrapped, Kara called a taxi and told him to drive to the address. Preferring to get a lift in this case so that the pies wouldn't get cold.

Once she arrived, Kara payed and tipped the driver before walking up to the front door. She smiled softly at the house; it looked like a home. This is what she had wanted, even saying so earlier today, she wanted a home. So, she knocked. The door opened to reveal the kind smile of Barry Allen, "Hey, you made it! Joe told me you were joining us for dinner."

Kara mentally willed herself to be normal, "Yeah, uh- I brought pie!"

 _A/N: Hey guys! I hope you are all enjoying the holidays with family and friends! I am_ _I might have posted sooner had I not gotten sick but I was also just soaking in some uninterrupted time with my family. Here's a little holiday drop from me though and I hope you enjoy the rest of your holidays! Cheers!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The pies were lifted from Kara's hands with incredible speed. She couldn't help but smile at the look on Barry's face, like a kid in a candy store. She didn't even know if humans were supposed to be able to open their eyes that wide. She chuckled.

Barry looked up at her with wonder in his eyes, but caught the smile on her face. He smirked and beckoned Kara into the house. "Joe! Kara's here! She brought pie!" He turned towards Kara, "The dining room is this way-"

Before Barry could finish, a young woman came down the stairs, "Did someone say pie?" She turned to Kara and smiled, "If you've brought homemade pie then you've found our family's weak spot." Walking up to the blonde, she stuck out her hand, "I'm Iris West."

Kara took the girl's hand, "I'm Kara Danvers, it's nice to meet you. Joe told me a lot about you."

Iris rolled her eyes but maintained a warm smile on her face, "Yeah, he tends to be that way with his kids."

"And why wouldn't I be?" Joe strolled out of the kitchen, apron around his waist and wiping his hands on a towel. He turned his eyes to Kara, "Thanks for coming Kara, the pies look great."

She smiled graciously, "Thank you for having me in your home detec- uh, I mean Joe."

The man smirked, "Nice save, you'll get the hand of it." He turned to his son next, "Barry, could you go get the salad ready?"

Barry nodded and headed towards the kitchen.

Joe left the room after a quick, "Dinner is almost ready, why don't you two get to know each other?"

Iris almost immediately pulled Kara towards the living room, "You have to tell me what it was like to work at Cat Co."

Kara blinked by the sudden intensity of the girl in front of her but smiled at her excitement, "Oh, well I didn't do much there. I was just Cat's assistant but-"

"You were Cat Grant's assistant?! Dad didn't tell me that! What was she like, was she amazing?!"

"Cat was amazing- is amazing. She takes no prisoners and gets what she wants. She inspired me to be a journalist."

As soon as those words passed Kara's lips, Iris' eyes lit up. This was definitely the start of a beautiful friendship.

OOOOO

The two young women chatted amicably on the couch, laughing and sharing stories. Joe saw this from the kitchen and smiled. "Kara and Iris seem to be getting along well."

Barry looked over his shoulder and chuckled, "That might be a dangerous combo, if she's anything like Iris."

Joe groaned playfully, "This may have been a mistake." He paused, a more serious tone coloring his voice, "No, seriously though, I'm really glad she decided to come. She really doesn't know anyone in this city. The only reason she came here is because she's trying to find a fresh start."

"Well," Barry started, "she may have lucked out by meeting you. You tend to have a habit of adopting people who are lost and trying to find their way."

Joe clapped Barry on the shoulder, smiling fondly at the little lost boy who had grown into a young man and his son. He turned towards the girls and called out, "Time for pasta! Who's ready?"

"ME!" Barry and Iris said in sync.

Kara chuckled and got up from the couch, "I'm ready to try this world-famous pasta."

They set the table and sat down. The biggest bowl of pasta Kara had ever seen was placed on the table.

Barry noticed her wide eyes, "That's my fault, Joe always makes extra for me. I kind of eat enough food for three people."

Iris scoffed, "Only three? It's usually at least four or five."

"It's okay, I eat a lot too and this looks really good so I might just have to fight you for Joe's pasta."

The speedster smiled, happy that Kara seemed much more care-free than she did this morning. "We shall seem who comes out the victor."

"Oh my gosh, you guys are such nerds. Dad! Come sit down before Kara and Barry declare battle over the dinner table."

Joe came and joined the rest of them at the table, thanking Kara once more for coming before declaring that everyone should 'dig in!'.

The conversation was light, Joe mostly talking about work things and people so that Kara could keep up. Iris and Barry talked about their respective days. It was all going very well until the conversation turned to Kara… yet again.

"Well, Kara, I feel like I know you the least out of these two," Barry said while pointing to Joe and Iris, "Joe said you're from National City?"

Kara quickly swallowed her food while nodding, "Yeah, that's where I've lived since I got out of university."

Iris chimed in, "Oh, I totally forgot, that's the city with Supergirl, right? Have you ever seen her?"

Kara smiled, tamping down the nervousness that name brought, "Uh yeah, I've seen her flying around. I actually met her once, she had an interview with Cat not too long before I left."

"Woah, that's pretty cool. What was she like?" Joe asked.

This was beyond weird, explaining your first impression of yourself who wasn't actually yourself but your shape-shifting boss… "I didn't get to meet her for long, but she seemed nice. I mean, I guess that's a bit redundant for a superhero? She was- is!- great though. She'll always have my gratitude for saving Alex's life." Man this was weird, but it wasn't a lie, she was grateful that being Supergirl had allowed her to protect a lot of people.

"Who's Alex?" Joe asked, "You didn't mention them this afternoon."

"Oh, well, Alex is my adoptive sister. I've been with her since I was around thirteen." Kara smiled fondly at the memories before continuing, "Supergirl saved Alex when she was on a plane that was going down. Saved a lot of people actually."

Barry interjected, "You're adopted?"

Kara grimaced, "Yeah, my parents died in a house fire. I've been living with the Danvers since then."

"I'm adopted too." Kara looked up from her lap at this point to see Barry was talking, "In case it wasn't obvious…" He chuckled, "My mother was killed when I was young and Joe and Iris took me in. It's nice to find family in places you're not looking for it."

Kara was instantly sympathetic, "I'm so sorry about your mother."

"I'm sorry about your parents." Barry returned, a soft, endearing smile on his face.

Kara was struck, there was so pain. So much pain in his eyes. Kara almost couldn't stand to meet them, there was such intensity. Not just loss but… something else? There was a steel in his eyes that she couldn't quite place. She shook herself loose of his eyes before returning a small smile. Maybe Barry Allen wasn't as scary as he seemed. She just needed to get to know him, differentiate him from Winn.

"Well," Joe broke the silence, "why don't I get started on clean up and you guys can pick a board game."

"Board game?" Kara asked, intrigued.

"Oh yeah," Iris explained, "we usually try to play a game of some kind when we have company over. Got any favorites?"

"Ooh, tough choice. I had a games night with Alex and a couple of my friends every week. I think my favourite was… Trivial Pursuit?"

Barry chuckled deviously, "Yes! That is my favourite. Get ready, I never loose." Iris groaned from somewhere behind the pair, reaching into a cupboard to get the game. The scarlet speedster looked to Kara, a challenge in his eyes.

"Oh, you are so on Allen."

 _(A/N): Hey guys! Here's another chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I'm back in university again so I don't know how frequently you'll be getting updates, buuut I wrote this when I was supposed to be listening to my History and Systems professor (bleh) sooooo it might not be too hard to get chapters done. We'll see ;)_


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Kara couldn't wipe the smile off her face for a few days. Her night with the Wests had given her a piece of warmth to hold on to when she went back to work for the rest of the week. It was easier to meet Barry's eyes as they passed each other by and her afternoons spent with Joe were extremely friendly. More often than not, the older man could get a laugh or two out of Kara before the day was done. Iris had even texted her a few times and had suggested the pair get lunch together sometime.

It felt good. It really felt good to be setting down new roots.

It was coming up on lunch on Thursday when Barry came down to the main floor, likely seeking out Joe. He smiled as he saw Kara, waving, "Hey, Kara."

"Hey, Barry. Looking for Joe?" She turned trying to locate the detective, "I think he just-"

Barry shook his head, "Nah, I'm here for you actually. Joe ordered-in since he has a meeting over lunch. He suggested I take you out, maybe show you a place you don't know?"

Kara mulled over this for a moment, she was still a touch nervous around Barry and the thought of one-on-one time with him made her a little more nervous than usual. However, her mouth seemed to move of its own accord as she said, "Sure, just let me get my backet. I mean my jacket… and my bag."

Barry chuckled, "Okay, I'll meet you out front."

Kara turned towards her desk and mouthed to herself, 'Backet? What is a backet, Kara?!' She hurried to get herself ready and smoothed her hair before finding Barry waiting just outside the doors to the station. He nodded towards her in a 'follow me' manner and the pair set off.

They made chit chat on the way to a small, hole-in-the wall, diner a few blocks from their work. The sat and ordered their food, Barry getting himself a couple sandwiches and Kara ordering a bowl of macaroni and a salad.

After stumbling through a bit more conversation, their food arrived, and Kara allowed herself the excuse of food to stop talking. It didn't last long, however, as Kara felt the need to whisper-yell, "This macaroni is the best!"

The speedster smiled around the large bite he had just taken. "I thought you might like this place. I don't think I've ever met someone who can eat as much of Joe's pasta as I can."

Kara laughed, a small blush dusting her cheeks. "Well, what can I say? It was really good."

Barry noticed Kara turn inward just a bit and sighed mentally. He had seen her with Joe and Iris and she seemed so different, so much more free. Around him, she became the shy and nervous girl sitting before him. "Kara, I'm sorry if I'm wrong but you seem… I don't even know… are you still worried about the coffee from your first day because I got my shoes clean-"

Kara shook her head, this was the worst, "No, no, it's nothing like that. I just… it's dumb."

Barry only looked at her like he wanted her to explain.

The blonde sighed, "Did Joe tell you the reason I left National City?" Barry shook his head, "Well I left because-"

Kara was interrupted by a crash, she wasn't fully sure but she thought she saw a car fly by the window. The sight was soon followed by the sound of screaming and people running away. Looking out their window and further down the street there was a person at the center of the chaos, throwing things around with some kind of invisible force.

The kryptonian looked back to find Barry standing, his eyes darting between Kara and the person on the street. He seemed to be standings on the balls of his feet, debating what to do. The first thing he did do when he eventually fell out of his stupor was grab her and drag her towards the back of the diner. "Kara, I need you to call Joe and tell him what's going on. Keep everyone in here inside and away from the windows. I'm going to go out there and wait for Joe and see if anyone else needs help."

"Barry, I really don't think-"

He wasn't listening, he was out of the diner before she could get her full sentence out. Ugh, why did he have to be the hero type?

Kara turned towards the people in the diner and tried to muster up her most confident voice, "I need everyone to get away from the windows and to stay inside this building. Call loved ones and tell them to do the same." Some began to shuffle behind the counter, others whipped out cells phones, and Kara dialed Joe's number.

"Hello?"

"Joe! You need to- to mobilize or something, there's a metahuman."

Joe startled, "What? Where? Where are you?"

Kara briefly explained, telling him the location and giving him details as she listened to him call out orders in between the questions he was asking him. "Okay, I need you to stay inside, we'll be there soon."

"Got it. Joe, you should know Barry-" Yellow lightning dance across her field of vision, "Oh, I think the Flash just got here."

Joe sounded a touch more relaxed, "Good, stay inside and keep the people with you calm." Then the line went dead.

Kara did her best to keep the people with her towards the back and away from the windows, even though a few put up a good fight. How did people not understand that running through the streets looking for your loved ones was a bad idea?

After everyone got low, Kara took a position and watched. It was incredible. Her eyes could barely keep up with his movements. He really was the fastest man alive. His whole body became a blur until he would appear in an entirely different location. Her eyes would catch him and he would be gone again.

The police arrived and set up a perimeter but even they could do little more than watch and wait for their hero, the Flash, to tell them they were safe once more. Fortunately, the fight seemed to be going in his favor. He was just too quick for the metahuman to really do anything to him.

The unknown powered-person must have picked up on this fact and decided to hurl debris in all possible directions. However, as he lifted the material for this, the Flash moved in to incapacitate him. It was in that moment, that Kara saw a girl crying in the streets, separated from her parents by the chaos. Why? Why for the love of Rao did it always have to be a kid?

There was no decision to be made. If the Flash knocked the guy out or whatever, the floating debris would fall onto the wandering child. Kara was out on the street in a moment, wrapping her body around the child and waiting for impact as soon as she her the metahuman cry out. However, there was no impact. Instead there was a feeling of movement. She had been lifted, along with the child, and before she knew it they were being set down. Looking up, she came face to face with something unexpected.

Kara didn't know when her glasses had fallen off or if she had taken them off at some point but they were not resting on her face. Without her glasses, her x-ray vision instinctively fell to see the face beneath the mask.

A concerned voice broke through her shock, "Are you alright miss?"

Despite the lowered tone, she knew who was he was. She was looking right at him. Kara was looking right at Barry.

Barry freaking Allen was the Flash.

 _(A/N): Surprise! So, that professor I mentioned before? I have two courses and a lab with him so I see him about 5-6 times per week. He is equally boring each time I see him. I had two classes with him today and I guess I was just in a writing mood. This may not always be the case but it is for today, so I just rolled with it. But yeah, Kara knows Barry is the Flash! We'll see if he figures out her secret in return soon… See ya later ;)_

 _**NOTE**: Me calling Iris, Iris Allen in the last one was a mistake and then I realized I did it again in this chapter. I updated it so it should be fixed but it was a mistake. Iris is a West, not an Allen. I'm tired. I blame lack of sleep. Barry Allen is the only Allen. Oh my word I can't believe I it twice in a row *facepalm*_


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Kara was in complete shock, all she could do was stare at the man in the red suit. Barry. It was Barry under there. She managed to get out a quick, "Th- thank you for saving us." Before she picked up the young girl and began walking towards the police perimeter. Joe met her at the front and Kara explained. Soon enough, a kind looking woman was taking the girl off Kara's hands, assuring her that they would find her dad soon.

Kara let out a shaky breath; what had just happened? She had been in Central City less than a full week and her life was already… already so complicated again.

A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality, "What you did was very brave Kara."

Looking up, the blonde caught Joe's eyes but had to look away under the intensity. She didn't like this kind of attention anymore, especially not in her civilian life. "I- I just did what anyone would have done."

"No, you did what only a few people really can do." The older detective's words sounded so sincere, it almost broke Kara's heart. "Maybe the Flash would have noticed in time, maybe he wouldn't have, but you did something to protect that little girl regardless."

There was a beat of silence in which the former hero didn't have the voice to speak. Joe interpreted this as shock about the general situation and passed her over to the appropriate EMTs. When they gave her a clean bill of health, Joe asked if she was ready to return to work. She nodded mutely, leaving the detective to wonder if she was really up to the onslaught of phone calls she would be getting this afternoon.

When they got back to the station, Kara surprised Joe for the second time that day. The manner in which she held herself with the reporters who came to the station and with the ones who called her was… nothing short of incredible. Sure, she had really opened up over the past couple of days, revealing the bubbly girl she was underneath the heartache, but this was someone new. This was a Kara who commanded respect, commanded that you listen to what she had to say.

At the end of the day, when she hung up her phone for the last time, Joe saw the girl's shoulders drop in relief. A small smile graced her face, probably a mixture of relief and satisfaction. This had been her first day of responding to a metahuman event and she had done it!

Joe held out the girl's coat to her, "You did great today. Come on, you're coming over tonight."

Kara took her jacket, a confused look on her face, "What?"

Joe started walking towards the exit of the building, allowing for Kara to catch up before explaining, "You need a warm drink and maybe a homecooked meal." He smiled, "Besides, Iris has been texting me non-stop today, asking me about you. She saw you on the news."

Kara's eyes widened as she scrambled to find her phone in the bottom of her bag. Sure enough, 30 missed texts from Iris. Oh man, she didn't know Iris that well but she knew her well enough to know that Iris just might kill her for not answering.

Joe chuckled at her expression, "Yeah, Iris can be a little feisty. I'd be worried if I were you too." He paused, "She mostly just wanted to know if you were doing alright."

Kara nodded and allowed herself to be lead to Joe's car. The drive to the West residence was made in silence, the entire day crashing over Kara all at once. The metahuman attack, the little girl, the Flash, Barry, work, Joe, Iris. Ahhh, it was such a rollercoaster of emotions. She shook her head, trying to focus on one thing at a time but it was no use. She settled for abandoning the train of thought all together for the time being.

When they arrived, Iris was on Kara before she had even gotten a step into the door. She wrapped the girl in a fierce hug before pulling her towards the couch where she already had a blanket and two mugs of hot chocolate ready to go.

Before the kryptonian could even process what was happening, she was sitting with a blanket around her shoulders and a cup of hot chocolate in her hands.

"Do you, want to talk about it?" Iris asked softly.

Kara nodded, and gave her the watered-down version. She couldn't vent all of her feelings to Iris without explaining her past as a hero and what today had meant for her, but it was nice regardless. It was almost like talking to Alex, except that her sister always knew exactly what was going on with her.

Iris listened patiently while Kara told her how it had felt right to protect the girl but it was scary and unknown (at least, it felt foreign because of her last few weeks spent as a civilian). How her dealings with the reporters had made her feel more confident at work but how she was also exhausted. Finally, she told Iris that today had brought up some old emotions that she didn't quite know how to deal with.

The girl sitting across from her was the picture of understanding. She listened to Kara for what felt like hours. She squeezed her hand when Kara stumbled with her words and didn't quite know what to say. Eventually they started talking about more mundane things when Iris sensed Kara was done talking about the incident, for now.

Barry came in a couple hours after Joe and Kara, his eyes scanned the room and fell to Iris and Kara on the couch. He walked over and crouched down next to Kara. Reaching out and touching her arm he asked, "Kara, are you okay?"

The girl swallowed and nodded, "Yeah, I'm doing alright. Much better now." She flashed a quick smile to Iris who returned it.

Barry shook his head, "I'm so sorry I left, I-"

Kara interrupted him, "You did what you had to do, and it all worked out for alright. No one was hurt today and that's all that matters."

Barry couldn't help but smile at the brave girl in front of him, "Thanks to you in part, I saw what you did."

Kara waved him off, "The Flash probably would have gotten to her in time."

Barry stood up and spoke once more before turning to go find Joe, "Maybe, but it was still a very brave thing to do."

The rest of the evening was pleasant enough. It was quieter than the night she had come over for an introductory dinner, but she didn't mind it. Joe drove her home later that evening and wished her a good night. He stopped her briefly and encouraged her to take the day off tomorrow if she needed it. Kara thanked him and wished him a good night in return before walking into her apartment building.

Kara threw off her shoes and went straight to her bedroom where she pulled out a box from underneath. She just looked at it for a while. Eventually she opened it and pulled out the red cape sitting on top of the rest of the contents, holding it to her chest as tears ran down her face.

All day people had been telling her how brave she was. Kara didn't feel brave, she felt like there was battle going on inside her and she was losing. She was losing her sense of self. Who was she if she wasn't helping people? Who was she without Winn? Who was she when she couldn't even protect the people she loved? Who was she if she didn't even try?

Joe's words rang in her ears, " _You did what only a few people really can do."_

It wasn't right. If she had all this power, it wasn't right for her to sit on the sidelines and let other heroes protect the world. She thought of her mother and she thought of what was once her mission. She thought of Alex, and J'onn, and James, and Winn.

The battle raged within her, threatening to tear her apart. Eventually, the girl calmed slightly and just listened. She let her hearing drift outward into her apartment building, and then out a block, and out further still until she could hear almost the entire city. It was a city full of people, just like the one she had left behind.

What we she supposed to do now? She wrestled with the question for hours, laying in her bed with her caped still held tightly in her hands. Eventually, exhaustion won out and she fell asleep.

A lightning bolt dashed across her balcony that night and in a second Barry Allen was miles away with a smile on his face. He was glad Kara was safe and resting.

 _(A/N): Another one. I unfortunately caught a cold from one of my best friends, so I am bed-ridden for now. I guess that means a couple more chapters might be going up? I don't know. I might succumb to this fever sooner or later. We'll see._


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Kara woke up to a text from Joe telling her to consider staying home. The blonde shook her head, she really lucked out when she ended up working under Joe. Without his understanding, she honestly didn't know how she would have handled this week. She was still shaky but with Joe, Iris, maybe even Barry, she felt her footing getting stronger each day.

Hopping out of bed, Kara looked down at the cape in her hands. The blanket that had once held her baby cousin. She had fallen asleep with a question on her mind. Could she really live as Supergirl again? Could she live with herself if she didn't help people? Was there another way?

Kara raised an eyebrow and shot off a quick text before folding up her cape and getting ready for work. She took her time and washed her face and did her hair up. She relaxed into her routine and allowed herself extra time to make a good breakfast.

When she arrived at the station, Joe was there with a smile and a coffee in hand. "I thought I told you to stay home today."

The younger girl returned the smile, "You didn't think you'd really get me to stay away from this place, did you?"

He sighed playfully, "No, I suppose not. You're too stubborn for your own good," he said while nudging her playfully, "Since you're here, there are a couple new outlets asking for follow up details for the news this evening. The info is on your desk; take a look at it and edit the statements for approval by this afternoon."

Kara nodded and got to work. She had brought her own lunch today so she stayed in, though Iris visited to drop off some food for Joe. When it was time to go, most of the new stations in and around Central City had a set of statements issued by the department. It was very satisfying to know that words she had edited would be on the news tonight. It wasn't quite journalism, there was no byline with her name on it, but it was good enough for her.

OOOOO

When she got home, Kara's eyes went wide as she heard some movement in her apartment. Looking through her door, she relaxed instantly. She let herself in, "Alex? What are you doing here?"

Alex turned to meet her adoptive sister's gaze. "I came to deliver a package." She pointed to a box on Kara's kitchen island. "I intercepted it when I heard J'onn saying something about, 'Don't tell Agent Danvers.'" She was crossing her arms at this point, "You wanna tell me what that's about?"

Kara went up to her sister and forced her into hug, "I missed you."

Alex softened, hugging her sister in return, "I missed you too. Now, can you please tell me why J'onn is sending you something with specific instructions not to tell me?"

The kryptonian sighed, "I didn't want you to worry, and to be honest I didn't think J'onn would get back to me so fast." Kara walked towards the box and opened the lid. She pulled out a dark blue mask and showed it to Alex.

"Oh Kara…" Alex was left speechless. "Are you sure you…" She didn't know how to finish.

"I'm not sure." Kara shook her head as she looked down at the mast. "But I know I can't sit here and do nothing. It's not fair."

"But if you're going to get back into the hero game, why not just come back home? Why not wear your cape again?" Alex asked, obviously wishing her little sister would come back to National City.

"I can't do that either, I can't go around with the crest of El on my chest and pretend it doesn't feel like it's burning a hole in me." She put the mask back in the box carefully, replacing the lid and turning to face Alex, "I know it doesn't make sense, but National City isn't the home it used to be. Not since Winn. I'll always protect it, but the DEO can handle most of the trouble that comes into town anyway."

Alex looked like she wanted to protest but thought better of it, she knew forcing Kara back would only hurt her more.

"I think…" Kara began again, "I think I'm making friends here. They- they're helping a little bit. I feel like I'm doing something good with my job and-"

Alex stopped her with another firm hug, she pulled back and pushed a stray hair from Kara's face. "You know I miss you, but if this place is what you want… if you think this place will help you get that Zor-El fire back, then I think you should stay."

The blonde blinked in surprise, "You really think so? You think I'm making the right choice?"

Alex nodded, and the pair fell into the familiarity that only siblings can really understand. Alex ended up staying the night so she could leave for National City in the morning. The sisters caught each other up on what had been going on in the last week.

Alex laughed at Kara when she told her that she had started off her week by dropping coffee on the son of her new boss. 'You would,' the agent snorted. Over a glass of wine, Alex told Kara about all the happenings of the DEO. It was nice, almost like it had been before.

OOOOO

The next day marked the beginning of the weekend, which Kara was beyond ready for. After breakfast, Alex went home while warning Kara to be safe. The blonde smiled as she bid her sister goodbye, knowing that Alex would be looking out for her whenever she wasn't busy at the DEO.

Without much else to do, Kara decided to call Iris and see if she wanted to meet up. The girl responded in the affirmative, but they set a lunch date for Sunday as Iris was busy with finishing an article today. Kara sighed, she didn't really have a lot of options. She could paint? Bake?

Maybe baking wouldn't be so bad. She could make a batch of muffins and maybe even take some down to the station for the people working over the weekend. Carrot could be nice, but blueberry is always-

The sound of sirens cut off Kara's train of thought. Looking out her window, she saw three fire trucks making their way towards the center of the city. Before she knew what she was doing, the blonde was rushing to open the box J'onn had sent her. Her hands shook, was she really doing this? Soon enough, there stood a masked hero in the place of Kara.

There was no insignia, no mark, no crest. Her outfit was a dark blue that faded to black towards her wrists and the bottom of her top. Her pants were the same. Her knee-high boots were gone, replaced by dark combat-style boots. A hood hid most of her golden locks; the mask she had shown to Alex was secured on her face.

Before she could talk herself out of it, Kara was on the roof of her building. She let her hearing extend and found the source of the emergency. The firetrucks had stopped somewhere downtown. Looking around, Kara found a path of buildings and "jumped" from roof to roof. She aided her landings with her flight abilities but didn't use them outright.

When she was finally within sight of the disaster, she paused. This was it. If she went in now, she would be back in the hero game. Chances are, someone would see her and then questioning of who this knew girl was. There would be suspicion and it would be hard but…

She shook her head and jumped towards the disaster. She hadn't been sent to this planet to sit by and do nothing. Kara had the power to help other people and she would be damned if she was going to let the Flash do all the work on his own.

 _(A/N): Hey guys! So Kara did it! She's getting back in the game! Woohoo. So, her outfit is pretty much a blue version of Speedy's outfit from Arrow, just maybe with zippers in the place of the laces. Also, in case it wasn't quite clear, Kara isn't using her flight. She really wants to go unnoticed, and she figures if a hero in blue shows up with flight powers people are going to speculate it's Supergirl. She'll probably be forced to use it eventually, but for now she's got mad hops. We'll see how Barry reacts to another hero on his scene :P_


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The first thing Kara noticed as she jumped into the building was the utter lack of clean air to breath. She listened to make sure no one was on the floor she was on before releasing her ice breath. She used it mostly to clear the air on this floor, but it also helped to put out some smaller fires that were creeping up the building.

Looking around, Kara found the entrance to the stairwell and tried to pinpoint the floor where any people may be stuck. There were two groups. One group was below her and closer to the fire if not directly caught in it. Another was a few floors above her, and it sounded like it was getting a little hard for them to breathe with all the smoke rising through the building. The people in the fire were obviously the priority at the moment, so Kara jumped down.

When she reached the door where she heard the yelling she braced herself. Hopefully J'onn had made sure her suit was as durable as she was. While standing behind the door, Kara opened the door. After the initial burst of fire, Kara jumped through.

The first thing she found was a small group trapped in a corner by encroaching fire. Kara walked through, satisfied as her suit held up nicely. She found a man and two women in business clothes, shuddering into their corner.

"I'm here to help you. Let me get you out of here." Kara reached her hand towards the group.

Without much hesitation, one of the women took the hero's hand. Kara smiled and helped her up. Near them were a few windows that had been shattered. The blonde quickly rid the frame of excess shards before guiding the first girl. "You're going to need to trust me." The woman nodded.

Kara held the woman and jumped down towards the street. She screamed initially, but stopped when she realized that she hadn't gone splat. The kryptonian deposited her lightly on the pavement before jumping back up to get the other two. There was hesitation from the pair, but the encroaching fire was a good reminder of the time-sensitive nature of their situation.

When the last of the trio was on the pavement, Kara saw something appear in the corner of her eye. A flash of lightning stopped before her. Kara almost wanted to laugh, Barry looked so confused. He spoke after only a few seconds of his mouth hanging open. "Uh- uh… who are you?"

Kara shook her head. "Talk later, there are some people on the higher floors, I've got the ones on the lower ones." She tried to use her most commanding voice, hoping the tone would be enough that Barry wouldn't recognize her. I mean, it was more plausible than her last disguise.

Her words seemed to snap Barry back into Flash mode; he nodded and ran up the side of the building towards the upper flowers.

Kara jumped back up into the fire and let her ice breath go once more, clearing the room she was in. She walked through the rooms one by one, extinguishing fires until she found people and then she would direct them towards the front of the building where the open window was. Once she was sure no one else was trapped, it was just a matter of jumping the people down to the street one by one.

After the last one, Kara allowed herself a breather. She listened and found that there was no one else in the building. Looking around she saw that the Flash was getting the last of the people from the upper floors down to ground level. There had been a few dozen of them. He was looking a little rosy in the cheeks, probably from the poor quality of oxygen.

Kara smiled and jumped up onto one of the roofs of the nearby buildings. With one last look down to the streets below, she turned to leave. Before she could though, she heard a familiar crack of lightning behind her. "Hey! You said we would talk later!"

Kara turned to meet Barry's eyes and chuckled, "Yeah, I guess I did."

Barry looked her up and down, trying to get a read on this masked girl. Who was she? "I don't know who you are, but what you did back there was great. I- OW! Stop yelling I-"

Kara laughed, hearing a male speaking in Barry's ear, demanding that he get "that blue girl" back to the lab because oh my god that was so cool.

"Your friend sounds anxious to meet me. Does he usually fangirl this hard?" Kara said teasingly.

Both Cisco and Barry went silent for a moment before Cisco seemingly whispered, "Can she hear me?"

Barry hesitated, eyes fixed on Kara, "I think she can."

Kara laughed at the ridiculousness of it all, "Yes, I can hear you."

Cisco went silent once more before speaking, "Alright… uhh… new girl… you wanna come h-hang at-"

Barry cut him off, tapping his ear piece in-order to mute his babbling friend. The masked man shook his head, "I'm sorry about him he's just- curious." He rubbed at he back of his neck, "To be honest so am I."

Kara smiled, "It's okay," she gestured around the city, "Just point me in the right direction." A little pop-in at Barry's other work wouldn't be so bad, right? It sounded like he had a team, or at least one very excitable dude, behind him.

Barry pointed to a building that Kara knew to be S.T.A.R Labs, it had been on the news when the particle accelerator exploded. "I could just run us both there. It would probably be-"

Kara wasn't listening, she was backing up and making a running start for the edge of the building. Maybe she was on a high from helping all those people, maybe it made her laugh that she knew something Barry didn't, or maybe it was something else. Regardless, Kara was bursting with energy and felt like teasing Barry just a little bit more today.

A split second before she jumped, Kara addressed Barry with a quick, "See you there," before pushing herself and jumping almost half the distance to the lab in a single bound.

Barry was left star struck, "Woah…" He shook his head before racing off to catch up with the blonde in the hood, "Who is this girl?"

OOOOO

Kara did arrive first, only slightly and probably only because she had left Barry paused in confusion for several seconds. She tried to contain her snicker as he showed up, looking even more confused with each passing moment.

The pair walked into the building and it didn't even take Cisco a split second to begin bombarding Kara with questions as she walked into the main lab.

"Who are you? Where did you come from? What are your powers? How can you jump so high? Are you a meta? PleasetellemeeverythingIneedtoknow…"

"Cisco!" A woman shouted, "Calm down, you're going to scare… uh…" Caitlyn paused realizing she didn't know what to call the woman before her, "I'm sorry for him, he's usually not quite this… excited? I'm Caitlyn, this is Cisco."

"It's nice to meet you! I'm- uhhh- well to be honest I hadn't really thought that far ahead." Kara took in the confused looks of everyone around her, "What?"

Barry shook his head and kept his mask on when he noticed the girl was making no move to remove hers. "Let's start from the top. Where did you come from?"

Cisco piped up once again, "She kinda looks like she's from Star. The hood and everything… You wouldn't happen to know the Green Arrow would you?"

"Nah, I've heard of him though." Kara answered, "And I'm not from Star City. I just didn't want people to recognize me and the hood helps with that."

"Alright," Barry replied, "Uh- are you a meta?"

"A what?"

"A metahuman," Cisco clarified, "It's what we call the people who got caught up in the particle accelerator explosion."

Kara shook her head again, "Nope, I'm not a meta. I've had my powers since I was younger."

"And those powers would beeeee?"

"Well," Kara started, "you saw the jumping." Cisco nodded, urging her to continue, "I'm really strong and I have heightened senses."

"Ahh so just how strong-"

Kara chuckled, Cisco was about as insatiable as Winn. For the first time, the thought of Winn didn't make her want to cry. She felt proud, knowing that he would have been proud of her today too. However, he would also be yelling at her for being so risky with coming back to the labs. Speaking of which, "I'm sorry guys, it was really nice to meet you but I better get going." She turned to exit the labs, giving and over the shoulder wave, "Maybe I'll see you around."

Barry wanted to follow but stopped short. He didn't know this girl. She seemed nice but she could be a villain for all he knew. Still, why did he feel so drawn to her? Why did she seem so familiar?

 _(A/N): So Kara and Barry's hero personas finally met. Hopefully it won't take Barry too long to realize it's Kara. I NEED YOUR GUYS HELP THOUGH. I have absolutely no clue what to call Kara. Give me your suggestions!_


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The next day, Barry was still confused. Who was that girl? Where did she come from? Maybe more importantly, could he trust her? There was something in his gut telling him that he could, but the speedster didn't know where that feeling was coming from. That nagging feeling was only making him more unsure.

He had gotten up early the next day to head back to the lab. Cisco had been working all night to try and figure out who the girl in blue was. If she had appeared in another other city before, Cisco would have the answers.

"She's never appeared in another city before."

Barry's eyes went wide, "What? No way! She was too… confident. She had an actual suit, she had control of her powers. There's no way this is her first time on the scene!"

Cisco shrugged, "I don't know what to tell you man, there's no one who matches her description. I tripled checked with Felicity to see if anyone similar had appeared in Star but she said no. She also promised to look into it when she had time."

The speedster shook his head. None of this made sense. "Well, if she had gotten her powers in the particle accelerator explosion then she would have turned up before this, right?"

Cisco thought for a moment, "Maybe, but she could have stayed quiet…"

"Maybe…" Barry sighed and rubbed at his eyes, "I guess I'm just making assumptions at this point. I just, I don't know Cisco."

"Hey, it's okay man. We'll figure out who she is eventually… maybe she'll show up again at whatever the next crisis is."

"Looks like that crisis is happening now." Caitlyn walked into the room, a tablet in hand. "There's chaos down town. A series of small explosions is going off in an office building. A few more and it's going to come down."

Barry was gone in a second, rushing to get to the area of disaster. He heard Cisco in his ear, "Cait is right, it looks like these bombs were laid out to bring this thing to the ground." He stopped in front of the building.

"Any idea where the others are?"

"I mean, I can guess where they are based on the pattern but you'd-"

Cisco was interrupted as Barry startled, though he would deny it forever, as a mass of blue jumped down from a building near him. The mysterious girl was before him once more. "What's going on here?" She asked.

"Barry," Cisco started, "Left pocket, I put an extra comms unit in there."

Barry reached in and, sure enough, there was another ear piece. He offered it to the girl and she took it and equipped it.

Cisco started again, "Okay guys, we don't have a lot of time. Barry, I'll try to help guide you to the bombs. New girl, I'm getting reports that most of the people have already gotten out but there are 4 that got stuck on floor 9."

Kara spoke first, "Got it, I'll get them." She briefly counted the floors before steeling herself and jumping up to that floor.

Barry was off a millisecond later. Running wherever Cisco told him to check and deactivating the bombs before they could lock. It wasn't too long before he heard the girl speak, "I've got them all, the building is clear now."

Cisco responded, "That's good, but the real problem is keeping this building from falling. It'll destroy half the block if it falls."

"Cisco! I can't find the last one, it's not where you said it would be!"

"What?!"

"I found it!" There was a pause that made everyone sweat, "It locked, it's going to go."

Cisco and Kara spoke at once. Cisco yelling, "Get it out of the building!" while Kara said, "Bring it to me!"

Barry barely paused, running to find the new hero just outside the building. He handed it to her and in a second, she was jumping higher than the skyline of the city. She pulled back and threw the bomb as far as she could. It sailed up higher than Barry thought possible before it's ascent was cut off by its own explosion.

Barry looked to make sure the girl in blue would be able to land okay. What he saw confused him even more. He could have sworn she slowed down just a second before she hit the ground again. He shook his head, that couldn't be right.

She looked up and met his eyes, smiling ear to ear. "We did it!"

Barry allowed himself a second to breath, a small smirk.

Cisco chimed in once more, "Hell yeah! Way to go Blue Nova!"

Kara looked at Barry with a confused looked on her face, "Blue Nova?" she asked.

"Well," Cisco started, "We can't just keep calling you the new girl, and I was playing around with some ideas. I took the explosion in the sky as a sign that Blue Nova was the right choice."

Barry chuckled, used to Cisco's antic at this point while Kara mulled over the name. "Blue Nova… not bad. I actually kind of like it."

Barry smirked, "Well Nova, wanna head back to the lab?"

"Blue Nova," Cisco corrected.

"Fine fine, Blue Nova."

The newly dubbed, 'Blue Nova' nodded in agreement. She also allowed Barry to run them there this time, almost immediately yelling "Woo!" as they went.

When they reached the lab, Cisco and Caitlyn were waiting in the same spot they had been the last time. Cisco reached out for a high five from the girl in the mask. "Way to go guys!" Kara giggled and reciprocated the action.

Cisco froze. When his hand hit their new friend's ungloved one, everything went black. And then there was screaming. Oh my god, it was so loud. What on earth was going on? He saw flashes of a red sun, a world on fire, a woman smiling kindly at a young girl with tears in her eyes. So maybe not earth, but then, where else? The girl was in some kind of pod, and she was screaming. There was so much emotion here. Make it stop, make it stop!

He came back to the confused face of Kara, whispering to Barry, "Did I break him? Is he okay?"

Cisco replied, "Yeah sorry," his throat betrayed his emotion when his voice caught, "I uh- sometimes I just space out." He tried to lighten his tone, "I was just thinking about all the ways I could tinker with your suit."

Kara mock-protested, "Hey! My suit is fine just as it is I'll have you know."

An awkward silence fell over the room before Kara spoke again, "Well. Maybe I'll see you guys next time. I better get going." She removed her ear piece and handed it back to Barry before leaving.

OOOOO

As soon as Blue Nova was gone, Barry turned to Cisco, "What was that?"

"He vibed her," Caitlyn answered.

Cisco gulped and nodded, moving to sit down at his desk, obviously still shaken. "I- I-"

"What Cisco, what did you see? Did you find out who she is?" Barry asked anxiously.

The other metahuman shook his head, "No, if anything I have more questions." He brought his hand to his face, "It just doesn't make sense."

Caitlyn stepped up to her friend, "Cisco, take a breath, tell us what you saw."

"Well, there was a lot of fire. There was screaming, it was chaos. I saw a young girl-"

"Was it her?" Barry interrupted.

"Maybe. Probably, since I vibed off of her, but I can't know for sure. And there was…" He trailed off, unsure of what he saw.

Caitlyn squeezed his shoulder, attempting to reassure him.

Cisco cleared his throat, "Guys, there was… there was a red sun in the sky. Wherever Blue Nova is from, it's not Earth."

 _(A/N): BLUE NOVA! I hope you guys like that name, I really do. One of you guys, Melanie, suggested it and it just seems to fit well. Green Arrow, Scarlet Speedster, Blue Nova… DC really likes to put color adjectives before it's hero names XD. I loved all your suggestions though! I really considered Midnight, Velocity, some other physics names, some Latin names, some goddess names. Ultimately, Blue Nova seemed to fit the tone of these three shows the best. So! The story goes on! Team Flash is putting the clues together piece by piece._


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